VFO-B indication and control?

[MountainMan]

I'd really like to buy an SDRPlay receiver, but first need an answer to this question. I would be using the receiver with SDRUno as a panadapter for an HF transceiver. I need to be able to see on the panadapter exactly where both VFO-A and VFO-B are tuned when in split mode. And, I need to be able to mouse on the panadapter where I want VFO-B to be set and have my transceiver VFO-B set to that frequency. Can I accomplish this with SDRUno or not? Thanks.

73, K8AC

[Roger]

You do not mention what type of rig you have and that will determine how well it works with an SDR. SDRuno, HDSDR and SDR-Console all use the free OmniRig program to communicate with external radios. OmniRig uses individual .ini configuration files for most popular radios. These were created by volunteers and supplied to the OmniRig author and are bundled with the OmniRig program. Some of these .ini files are quite extensive and include support for advance features like split operation, VFO selection, filter settings etc. Others are more limited but users are free to text edit them and add more capability.

SDRuno, HDSDR and SDR-Console are quite different in the way they handle panadapter operation. They are several ways that a panadapter can be implemented. The most common are IF mode and external SDR antenna switch mode. SDRuno is the SDRplay software package and it is a great piece of software but somewhat limited in IF mode compared to HDSDR and SDR-Console. In particular, in the current release it does not support waterfall clicking when in IF mode. It does have this capability when doing external switching mode. HDSDR, in my opinion, has the best IF mode capability and has waterfall point and click and offsets for each mode (CW, USB, LSB, AM etc.)

Now your specific question was about syncing VFO A and VFO B with the SDR software during split operation. On my Icom 7200 it does not work that well with SDRuno, HDSDR or SDR Console. There is VFO A and B in the SDR software but it does not always sync well with VFO B on the rig. It works perfectly with VFO A however. I do not use this feature that much so I have not spent any time trying to track down the reason why.

Hope this helps - Roger

[MountainMan]

Hi Roger - thanks for the reply. Currently, I'm looking for a solution for a Kenwood TS-590SG, but I've written a CAT translator that makes other rigs look like an Elecraft K2, which most software supports from a CAT standpoint. The real quest is to find panadapter software that understands that rigs have a VFO-B and can indicate the VFO-B frequency as well as react to mousing on the panadapter to set the VFO-B frequency. I've used NaP3 for the panadapter function for many years now and that package does understand VFO-B operation. The problem I have with HDSDR, SDR-Console and other products from the same author is that for some reason they concentrate on being a complete receiver for all modes and the panadapter function is secondary (and they don't handle VFO-B). The result is, from a panadapter standpoint, an ugly waste of screen real estate where the panadapter is a small portion of the junk displayed. That's one reason I was attracted to SDRUno - it appears that the panadapter window can exist without all the other stuff since it's in a window of its own and the other windows can be minimized. NaP3 was derived from PowerSDR and concentrated on the panadapter function from the beginning, without all the unnecessary SDR receiver control stuff having to be displayed and taking up screen space. Unfortunately, NaP3 is no longer being updated or supported and talks only to soundcard-based interfaces. So, it talks to a Funcube for example just fine, but not an RTL-SDR, SDRPlay, etc.

Maybe I need to dig into the Omnirig files and see what's possible there. I really don't care about point and click on the waterfall, only the spectrum display, but maybe you were using the waterfall term to apply to both? I'd really like to see someone focus on just the panadapter function and get that right, without all the other SDR receiver stuff.